Hall County Department of Corrections

Hall County Department of Corrections Information

Overview of the Hall County Department of Corrections

The Hall County Department of Corrections (HCDC) is located in Grand Island, Nebraska and first opened in 2008. This facility is owned by Hall County itself but operations are managed by the Hall County Department of Corrections leadership and staff. 

## History of Housing ICE Detainees

In 2009, just one year after opening, the Hall County Department of Corrections entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house immigration detainees. This partnership is overseen by the Field Office Director of ICE's Saint Paul, Minnesota office which covers several Midwestern states.

Under this agreement, HCDC provides detention and housing services for immigrants undergoing removal proceedings. At any given time, a portion of HCDC's detainee population consists of immigrants in ICE custody going through immigration court hearings and processing. 

The care and treatment of ICE detainees at HCDC falls under the jurisdiction of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit. ERO oversees the detention network across the nation, ensuring facilities like HCDC are operating under ICE's National Detention Standards. The specific standards version that HCDC adheres to was updated in 2019.

These federal standards encompass a wide array of operational areas and requirements that impact detainees' rights, health, and welfare. Some examples of what is covered under the ICE National Detention Standards include medical care, grievance procedures, classification and housing, admission and release, use of force and restraints, food service, recreation, and legal access. Hall County Department of Corrections must maintain compliance in all areas.

## Contacting the Facility About an ICE Detainee

If you need to get information about an immigrant detainee being housed specifically under ICE custody at HCDC, you can call 308-385-5211 between 8am and 5pm Central Time, Monday through Friday. 

When phoning the facility, it helps to have certain biographical details handy to provide, such as the detainee's full legal name, any aliases they may use, their date and country of birth, and their alien registration number if available. Having this information allows facility staff to easily look up the detainee in their system.

One limitation is that HCDC does not have the capability to transfer incoming phone calls directly to detainees. However, concerned family or friends can leave urgent voicemail messages for a detainee by calling the above number and selecting the appropriate voice mail option. 

Be sure to leave the detainee's full name, alien registration number, the caller's name, and a call-back phone number. HCDC staff will pass along the voice message to the detainee as soon as possible.

## Overview of Key Programs and Services

There are a variety of programs and services that operate at Hall County Department of Corrections to serve the needs of the overall detainee population, including those held under ICE custody.

### Food Service and Commissary Access

All food service operations, including providing meals and stocking commissary options, are handled by a private contractor called Summit Food Service, LLC. This company has culinary staff to prepare meals and oversees ordering commissary items that detainees can purchase. Having access to commissary provides detainees the option to buy approved snacks, clothing, hygiene items, and other products.

### Health Services

Medical care for detainees at HCDC is provided by Advanced Correctional Healthcare, which is a company that specializes in supplying health services to correctional facilities. They staff and manage an on-site clinic at Hall County Department of Corrections with doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, and other personnel to care for both routine health needs as well as assess medical emergencies.

### Accreditation Status

Unlike some other detention centers, Hall County Department of Corrections does not currently hold any accreditations from external organizations regarding their operational policies, programs, or facilities. However, they maintain compliance with ICE's rigorous National Detention Standards.

### Visitation Policies and Mail Services

To maintain ties with family and friends, HCDC provides both in-person and online video visitation options. The standard in-person visitation hours are Tuesday through Friday from 8am to 12pm and 1pm to 5pm. Visitors for in-person visits must schedule the appointment at least 24 hours in advance.

For those unable to visit in person, detainees can also have video visitation sessions using the online service Encartele. These online video visits can take place daily between 8am-12pm, 1pm-5pm, and 7pm-10pm. Video visits only require 30 minutes advance scheduling notice. 

HCDC also allows detainees to send and receive physical mail after it is inspected for contraband. Stamps can be purchased if a detainee needs them in order to send letters out. Most incoming mail is delivered within 24 hours of the facility receiving it.

When detainees are transferred or released from HCDC, their legal mail is forwarded to their next address while general mail is returned to sender.

### Legal and Consular Access

To ensure adequate legal representation and communication, attorneys and paralegals can schedule visits or calls with detainee clients at any hour, with advance notice. Immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals can also be contacted by phone with questions for pending cases.

Additionally, embassy and consulate officials may meet in-person with their citizens detained at the facility. It is recommended they make prior arrangements with ICE before arriving.

### Security and Visitation Searches 

As standard protocol, any person attempting to enter HCDC to visit a detainee or attorney must pass certain security screenings. These include undergoing metal detector scanning, a pat down search, and inspection of any items brought in.

This is to prevent contraband such as drugs, weapons, cell phones, or other prohibited materials from being smuggled into the visitation areas or detainee housing units. Failure to comply with visitation rules or attempting to pass contraband can result in denied visitation or criminal charges. 

## Accessibility and Providing Feedback

Hall County Department of Corrections does not discriminate based on disabilities and seeks to accommodate detainees with special needs. The facility also has free, accessible parking options for visitors.

Individuals who wish to share feedback about the services and operations at HCDC have a few options:

- Write to the ICE Field Office Director in Saint Paul, Minnesota with any compliments or concerns. 

- File formal complaints about mistreatment by staff or issues with detainee care by contacting ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility. 

- Reach out to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General if problems persist.

# Frequently Asked Questions

**What are the standard visitation hours and policies at HCDC?**

Standard visitation hours are Tuesday through Friday, 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm. Visitors must schedule in-person visits at least 24 hours in advance. Video visits can occur daily 8am-12pm, 1pm-5pm, and 7pm-10pm with 30 minutes notice. All visitors must pass security screening and follow visitation rules.

**Can I call a detainee or leave them a voicemail message?**

You cannot call a detainee directly. However, you can leave them an urgent voicemail by calling 308-385-5211 and selecting the voice mail option. Leave their name, A#, your name, and callback number.

**What personal items are prohibited during visitation at HCDC?** 

All weapons, tobacco, lighters, matches, explosives, drugs, electronics like cell phones, and any form of contraband are strictly prohibited. Visitors attempting to smuggle in contraband may face criminal charges.

**What is the best way to send money to a detainee at the facility?**

Sending funds via money order or cashier’s check made out to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security” is recommended. Make sure to include the detainee name and A#. Avoid mailing cash.

**What standards and oversight does HCDC follow for ICE detainees?**

HCDC adheres to ICE's 2019 National Detention Standards that cover health, welfare, rights, and necessities for immigration detainees. ICE ERO oversees compliance.

Phone: 308-385-5211

Physical Address:
Hall County Department of Corrections
110 Public Safety Drive
Grand Island, NE 68801

Mailing Address (personal mail):
Inmate's Full Name & A-Number
Hall County Department of Corrections
110 Public Safety Drive
Grand Island, NE 68801

Other Jails and Prisons

Search Hall County Department of Corrections Inmates

Search Hall County Department of Corrections Inmates

How Do You Find Someone in the Hall County Department of Corrections?

How to Find Someone in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detainee Locator

When someone that is not a US Citizen gets arrested in the United States, and they are here illegally, depending on what state or city they are arrested in, the person may be turned over to ICE. 

Many states such as New York and California, as well as hundreds of US cities, have declared themselves 'sanctuary cities' and do not turn over foreigners here illegally, even if they are committing crimes in their jurisdiction.

However, when an alien here illegally is turned over to ICE, and sent to one of the over 100 Immigration Detention Centers in the United States, the only way to try and locate where they are being detained is using the Online Detainee Locator System.


There are two ways to search for an ICE Detainee:

You can look them up using their assigned A-Number.

  • An A-Number is a 9-digit number that either looks like this: A-123456789, or like this 123-456-789. This is required if you do not know their name.
    It is also called a Registration Number when on a visa, or a USCIS# when on a Green Card.
    If for whatever reason the A-Number you have does not have 9-digits, you need to add 0s (zeroes) to the front of the number until the number has 9-digits.

    That number might then look like this:  001234567.


You can also try and look them up by using their name.

  • In order for this to be effective, you need to have the exact name that is either on their paperwork, or the the name with the exact spelling that they gave ICE. This is required.
  • You also need to know the country of their birth, or the country of their birth that they gave ICE. This is required.
  • Knowing their Date of Birth is helpful but not required to find them in the system.


Important things to know about using the ICE Detainee Locator

  • You do not need to set up an account to use the Detainee Locator System.
  • A-Number stands for 'Alien Registration Number'.
  • The System does not have information on all detainees in custody.
  • Juvenile names are NOT in the System.
  • The Detainee Locator System is updated every 8 hours, sometimes sooner.
  • If the detainee is being moved to a new facility, the new location will not be shown until they have arrived and are processed. 
  • No warnings or prior notice are given in advance of a detainee being moved.
  • While being transferred to a different facility they may still be shown online as being in the original facility.
  • If you are planning a visit, always call before you come to confirm the detainee is still at the facility and has not been moved.
  • To visit a detainee you must have some type of government issued photo ID, or other identification when photo identification is unavailable for religious reasons.
  • If you are unable to find the detainee using the System, contact the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in the area where you believe the person's immigration case was initiated or the Detainee Reporting and Information Line (DRIL) at 888-351-4024.

Pamphlets in various languages with Instructions on how to use the Online Detainee Locator System:

⇓ Learn more ⇓ Show less
Directions / Map to the Hall County Department of Corrections
Understanding US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

What is an ICE Detention Center?

Men, women, and children that are in the United States illegally and are apprehended by the US Border Patrol or ICE will most likely be placed in removal proceedings and may be detained in one of the more than 200 jails and detention centers that make up ICE’s detention system.

Many of the illegal immigrants that are detained are held in county and local jails that contract with ICE to detain immigrants. The rest are held in dedicated immigration detention facilities run by ICE or contracted to private prison corporations, including family detention centers that hold mothers and children.

What Determines if an Illegal Immigrant gets Detained?

ICE will typically detain an immigrant because DHS (Homeland Security) believes that an illegal immigrant is either a “flight risk” and may move to another location within the U.S. or that they pose a public safety threat. Detaining the person allows the government to guarantee that the person will show up for their hearing before an Immigration Court.

Some of the reasons that causes an illegal immigrant to get arrested and held in detention prior to their day in court is as follows:

The illegal immigrant has:

  • committed a crime, or multiple crimes
  • arrived at the border without a visa prior to formally applying for asylum or refugee status
  • an outstanding removal (deportation) order on record, either pending or past due, or
  • missed prior immigration hearing dates.

 

How do you find someone that is in an ICE Detention Center?

The first step to finding out if an illegal immigrant is in ICE or DHS custody is by using the ICE Detainee Locator.

It’s easier to find the person if you have an Alien Number (A#), if one exists. A green card or work permit will show this number. If you don’t have an A# the person is much more difficult to locate.

The information you will need is as follows:

  • the person’s full name as it appears in the ICE System. The exact spelling and the order of how the name is listed is required.
  • the person’s date of birth
  • the person’s country of birth

If you are having difficulty, try different spellings and the order of how the name is listed.

If the illegal immigrant was only recently detained, the ICE Detainee Locator may not be updated with the latest information. Keep in mind that ICE does not give information (online or over the phone) for people under 18 years of age. In such cases, you can only get information on them from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office nearest you.

If the person you are looking for is not in an ICE Detention Center, they may have been taken to a local jail that contracts with ICE, so contact their local City and County Jail, all which can be found here.

Another option, short of the expense of hiring an Immigration Lawyer, is to go to this website and use their online form to get their help.

Once an illegal immigrant is located and you find out the facility where they are being held you need to find out the Deportation Officer that has been assigned to their case. The Officer can tell you how to call or visit the detainee, or pay for the detainee to be able to call you, or how you can send any needed items such as clothing, prescriptions, etc.

The last option, and the most expensive, is to hire an experienced immigration attorney to assist you in tracking down the Deportation Officer. If the person being detained requires specific medical care, an attorney can ensure that they receive that care.

If the detained illegal immigrant has been deported from America previously or has an outstanding removal order - in which case they have no right to see an immigration judge - they can be removed within a few days, or even hours, of the initial arrest.

Even if the government does not immediately remove the person, it is possible that they can be moved around to different Detention Centers. There is never a warning that a person is being moved around and during the transfer there is a complete blackout of any information.

How long are people held in ICE Immigration Detention Centers?

The time that an illegal immigrant is held in an ICE Detention Center can vary. It all depends on several factors such as the individual’s personal situation, criminal record, the severity of the crime they are being charged with, previous deportations and the current caseload that the Detention Center is dealing with.

This image portrays the most recent data available on the time a detained illegal immigrant remains in custody before their release and/or deportation.

Can you visit someone in ICE Detention Centers?

The short answer is yes. The person visiting an illegal immigrant in an ICE Detention Center must be lawfully present in the United States. In other words the visitor must have some form of currently valid immigration status at the time of the visit. A detention center or jail will not allow the visit unless visitor can show valid I.D. and offer proof that they are lawfully in the United States.

If you want to become a volunteer that visits illegal immigrants in order to offer emotional support, it may be possible. You can join one of these visitation networks by going here and contacting the network in your area.

What crimes can cause an illegal immigrant to be deported?

(The following information comes from Nolo.com, a trusted legal resource)

  • Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude (see list). This includes any attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime. It does not include crimes that were committed that the illegal immigrant committed when they were under the age of 18 years, however the person must have been released from jail more than five years before applying for a visa or other immigration benefit. It also does not include crimes for which the maximum penalty did not exceed one year in prison and the person was not, in fact, sentenced to more than six months in prison.
  • Conviction or admission of a controlled substance violation, whether under U.S. or foreign law. This includes any conspiracy to commit such a crime.
  • Convictions for two or more crimes (other than purely political ones) for which the prison sentences totaled at least five years. This multiple-offense ground of inadmissibility applies whether or not the convictions came from a single trial and whether or not the offenses arose from a single scheme of misconduct or involved moral turpitude.
  • Conviction of or participation in (according to the reasonable belief of the U.S. government) controlled substance trafficking. This includes anyone who knowingly aided, abetted, assisted, conspired, or colluded in illicit drug trafficking. It also includes the spouse, son, or daughter of the inadmissible applicant if that person has, within the last five years, received any financial or other benefit from the illicit activities, and knew or reasonably should have known where the money or benefit came from.
  • Having the purpose of engaging in prostitution or commercialized vice upon coming to the United States, or a history, within the previous ten years, of having engaged in prostitution.
  • Procurement or attempted procurement or importation of prostitutes, directly or indirectly, or receipt of proceeds of prostitution, any of which occurred within the previous ten years.
  • Assertion of immunity from prosecution after committing a serious criminal offense in the U.S., if the person was thus able to depart the U.S. and has not since submitted fully to the jurisdiction of the relevant U.S. Court.
  • Commission of particularly severe violations of religious freedom while serving as a foreign government official.
  • Commission of or conspiracy to commit human trafficking offenses, within or outside the U.S., or being a knowing aider, abettor, assister, conspirator, or colluder with such a trafficker according to the knowledge or reasonable belief of the U.S. government. Also inadmissible are the spouse, son, or daughter the applicant if they, within the previous five years (but when older than children), received financial or other benefits from the illicit activity and knew or reasonably should have known that the money or other benefit came from the illicit activity.
  • Conviction of an aggravated felony, if the person was removed from the U.S. and seeks to return (this ground of inadmissibility lasts for 20 years)
  • Seeking to enter the U.S. to engage in money laundering, or a history of having laundered money, or having been (according to the knowledge of the U.S. government) a knowing aider, abettor, assister, conspirator, or colluder with money launderers.

These are the straightforward crimes that are mentioned in the immigration law. The statute also lists a number of security violations, such as involvement in espionage, sabotage, terrorism, Nazi persecution, totalitarian parties, and so forth.

Once an illegal immigrant is deported, how long before they can come back to the United States?

If an illegal immigrant has a deportation or removal order in their immigration file, it's possible that they won’t be allowed to enter the U.S. for five, ten, or even 20 years.

The applicable law comes from Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.).

Five-Year Ban: If they were summarily removed or deported upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry because they were found inadmissible, or if they came to the U.S. but were immediately put into removal proceedings and then removed or deported, they may be ineligible to return to the U.S. for five years. The five-year ban also applies if they failed to show up for their removal hearing in the United States.

Ten-Year Ban: If a ‘removal order’ was issued at the conclusion of their removal hearing in Immigration Court, they may not be able to return for ten years after their removal or departure.

Twenty-Year Ban: If they were convicted of an aggravated felony or have received more than one order of removal, they are barred from returning to the U.S. for 20 years. And if they entered without permission after having been removed, or illegally reentered the U.S. after having previously been in the U.S. unlawfully for more than one year, they may be barred from entering the United States for 20 years or permanently.

⇓ Learn more ⇓ Show less

This facility, known as "Hall County Department of Corrections" is also known as ICE Detention Facility, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.